Milk-strainer-cloth fastener.



Patented Feb 9, 1909.

FOCht Eli unto!- Witness I v attain,

. nickel plated so as not to rust.

Specification-o1 Letter! Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1908.

Application flledAuguat 1B, 1908. Serial No. 449,868.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, Iavmn Foorrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wellsboro, in the county of Tioga and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Milk-Strainer- Cloth Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new ahd useful improvements in means for fastening milk strainer-cloths to the rims of aerators, and milk coolers, and it has for its special object to rovide an attachment which while cheap and simple is readily applied and detached and is durable and sanitary.

In the handling of'milk in the modern dairy it is found desirable to strain, aerate and cool the milk as romptly as possible after it is taken from t e cow, as the warm milk, more or less impregnated with bacteria and other forei n matter, is then in a peculiarly susceptibIe condition for setting up fermentation. Recent tests have shown in fact that the bacteria at this stage may double in number by geometrical progression every half hour. the milk receives at this critical juncture determines to a large extent its kee ing qualities, and carelessness or delay will result in serious deterioration.

A usual practice is to tie a piece of cheesecloth over the top of the pail or other receptacle with a string or fasten it with a number of clothespins or the like. Either method requires considerable time and patience for the adjustment of the cloth, and the clothespins es eciall are apt to become dirty and taint t e milk. I have designed my fastener to obviate these difliculties and its construction and operation will bereadily understood from the accompanying drawin ,wherein igure 1 represents my fastener before being applied, and Fig. 2 illustrates how it is adjusted in place to hold the strainercloth over the top of the aerator, or milk cooler.

The same letters refer to the same parts where they occur in both views,

My fastener is made of spring wire, bent in the form shown particularly in Fi 1 and T e free ends are formed into the hooks A, B, which are interlocked when the fastener is applied.

At C is a double spiral and at D, D single spirals, which allow. of a certain amount of Thus the treatment give inthe fastener, thus permitting it to take up limited inequalities in size of receptacle and thickness of cloth. The spirals D, D also serve as handles in attaching the fastener, as will be explained.

At E, E the wire is bent upon itself as shown to form hooks designed to grasp the top rim of the receptacle and keep the fastener from slipping down out of place and letting the cloth loose.

At F, F the wire is bent'so as to form an offset; this is an important provision, I find,

as it gives room for any excess fullness in the cloth to be gathered at this point.

In Fig. 2, h, H represent the folds of the strainer-cloth and Ur re resents the aerator or milk cooler to whic the fastener is ap lied.

y device being constructed as described, its mode of operation is as follows: When it is desired to strain milk into an aerator, or milk cooler, a piece of cheesecloth is spread over the top of the receptacle, its edges, as H, H, being allowed to fall down over the rim-. The fastener is then grasped in both hands, the forefingers being placed in the spirals D, D, and is brought round the top of the receptacle just under the rim and inclosin the cheesecloth and is joined together by the ooks A, B, the thumbs being thus in a convenient position to keep the cloth taut and arrange any excess folds of it within the extra s ace provided by the oflsets at F, F. It ta es but a moment to apply the fastener and it holds the strainer-cloth so securely that there is no danger of its coming oil, as so often happens with makeshift devices.

I could of course dis ense with one or two of the spirals C, D, or sim ly leave a small outward crimp in the wire at these ,points, and my invention would still be 0 erative. Nor are the offsets F, F absolute y essential to its working. Furthermore I might substitute for the hooks E, E small spurs or the like to catch in the cloth and keep the fastener in place, but these would be mere equivalents, and I prefer the form of construction shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A fastener for removably holding a piece of cheesecloth or other strainer material over the top of a receptacle, consisting of a wire bent in a form adapted to embrace the top of the receptacle and the superimnish limited e asticity, and means for keeping the fastener from falling down out of place.

2. A fastener for removably holding a piece of cheesecloth or other strainer material over the top of a receptacle, consisting of a wire bent in a form adapted to embrace the top of the receptacle and the superimsed strainer-cloth, bein provided at A, B, its free ends, with mutua y enfaginf books, at F, F with outward offsets a apte to give room for excess folds of the cloth, at D, D and C with spiral turns for furnishing limited elasticity to the fastener and to serve as handles in adjusting the fastener in place, and at E, E with hooks adapted to grasp the top rim of the receptacle and hold the fastener in lace, substantially as shown and described.

In testimon whereof I affix my signature in presence 0 two Witnesses.

IRVINE FOCHT. Witnesses:

HARRY N. SHERWOOD, E. H. \VERUL. 

